4. Advocacy and leadership

Businesses are in a unique position to promote efforts in the
prevention of HIV/AIDS. If businesses are seen to recognise the importance of
responding to the disease, this has tremendous advocacy potential within
communities, the general public, other businesses and governments. Most of the
companies profiled within this report seek to take a lead in advocating for a
greater business response. A number of high profile multinational companies such
as Levi Strauss, The Body Shop, Glaxo Wellcome and Tata have long been
recognised as key players in the business response to HIV/AIDS.

On both an international and national level, companies have
begun to collaborate on advocacy through business coalitions on HIV/AIDS. For
example, at the international level, the Global Business Council on HIV&AIDS
is made up of senior-level business leaders from companies that have been
spearheading the business response to the disease. Through their activities they
have begun to raise the level of business involvement in dialogue and action on
HIV/AIDS internationally (e.g. International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa,
see Profile 16) and in identifying good practice by business. Important to this
work at both levels has been the existence of a few businesses that are willing
to take a lead in driving forward initiatives. Sir Richard Sykes, Chairman of
Glaxo Wellcome, has made particular efforts at the international level, as the
founding Chair of the Global Business Council on HIV&AIDS, to encourage
businesses to recognise the importance of responses.

MTV Network International have recently taken a lead through
their CEO, Bill Roedy, who is acting as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS.
Central to these activities is the partnerships with NGOs and intergovernmental
organisations for mutual assistance and advice in facilitating this advocacy
work.